Given name & surname
Lewis
“devotee of the Lord”
Lewis has a related form in Ludovic. One Latin interpretation is “devotee of the Lord.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Lewis has a related form in Ludovic. One Latin interpretation is “devotee of the Lord.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Lewis is a variant of Louis. An origin associated with Louis is Germanic. Lewis has a related form in Ludovic. An origin associated with Ludovic is Latin.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
From Middle English Lewis, from Old French Louis, from Frankish *Hlūdawīg.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Lewis is a variant of Louis. The history of Louis gives this family its wider story. Louis has a history of use among French royal or aristocratic families.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Lewis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 156,636
- 155,766 boys · 870 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 2,731 babies
- 2025
- 736
- #433 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 736 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 433 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 23.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,712 in 1921. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (52). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 63,422 as a first name in 2020; 515,459 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Lewis’s family of names
Lewis has an affectionate form in Louie. In English usage, Lewis shares an earlier linguistic root with Louis. Lewis is an English adaptation of Llewellyn.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Lewis has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
10 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 34
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Luisequivalent
- Loisequivalent
- Luizequivalent
- Llewellynoriginal
- Clovisequivalent
- Ludwigcognate · German, English
- Ludovicoequivalent
- Ludvikequivalent
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- Ludvigequivalent
- Ludwikequivalent
- Lluísequivalent
- Loïckequivalent
- Lewiesequivalent
- Lewysequivalent
- Lajosequivalent
- Chlodwigequivalent
- Loïcequivalent
- Clodoveoequivalent
- Luìggequivalent
- Luvìggequivalent
- Hloþewigequivalent
- Luiciequivalent
- Luthaisequivalent
- Loeisequivalent
- Luísequivalent
- Lewison“son of” surname · English
- LodewijkDutch
- LudvíkCzech
- Laoiseachoriginal
- Lughaidhoriginal
- Lewesequivalent
- Loeizequivalent
- Clóvisequivalent
- LeòdhasScottish Gaelic
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Lewis
- Lewis HamiltonBritish racing driverborn 1985
- Lou ReedAmerican rock musician (1942–2013)
- Brian JonesBritish musician (1942–1969)
- Lewis H. MorganAmerican anthropologist (1818–1881)
- Lewis MilestoneRussian-American film director (1895-1980)
- Lewis MumfordAmerican historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology and literary critic (1895-1990)
- Lewis CapaldiScottish singer-songwriter (born 1996)
- Lewis HoltbyGerman footballer (born 1990)
- Lewis HineAmerican sociologist and photographer (1874–1940)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Lewis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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